OPCAT: Opening up places of detention

Photo: Milan Obradovic/OSCE

The Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2002 and came into force in 2006.

The OPCAT establishes a system of unannounced and unrestricted visits to all places where persons are deprived of their liberty by independent international and national monitoring bodies.

The basic premise is that the more open and transparent places of detention are, the lesser the risk for abuse. More about the OPCAT